FREE/BARGAIN - Science Fiction, Fantasy - 2016

[maddz]

Besides the Laurell K Hamilton there's also these in the Amazon weekend sale:

Galápagos by Kurt Vonnegut at £1.99
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gal%C3%A1pa...322689&sr=1-45

A Kiss of Shadows (Merry Gentry 1) by Laurell K Hamilton at £1.99
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kiss-Shadow...322654&sr=1-28

[Abtacha]

The Craft sequence by Max Gladstone is on sale for $4.99 in the U.S at Kobo and Amazon.
I assume this is in preparation for the release of the next book in the series in 2 months. According to his website the promotion's been running since May 18th so I don't know how long the prices will stay this low.

I really enjoyed the "first three" (they are published out of chronological order) books of the series, haven't read the fourth yet.
Its a Urban Fantasy series but not set in the modern world but rather a fantasy setting where the people in the new world (the Americas) overthrew the gods to use their power for themselves with the help of the Craft, magic powered by what amounts to business contracts.
Each book tells a complete story that stands pretty well on its own and features different main protagonists, but characters from earlier books turn up in the later books and events are mentioned.

Edit: For those interested. The books are published by Tor and therefor provided DRM free.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Abtacha

The Craft sequence by Max Gladstone is on sale for $4.99 in the U.S at Kobo and Amazon.

It also seems to be on sale at Amazon UK for £3.79 for all except the second book.

I really enjoyed the first three, but I hadn't realised the fourth was already out. Now bought at a bargain £3.79 (considering that they were £7+ a few days ago.)

My 120th bought book this year.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

It also seems to be on sale at Amazon UK for £3.79 for all except the second book.

I really enjoyed the first three, but I hadn't realised the fourth was already out. Now bought at a bargain £3.79 (considering that they were £7+ a few days ago.)

Sounds like an interesting series. Amazon tells me that I bought the first 2 in June last year, when they were on special offer, but I've now bought numbers 3 and 4. I'll move them up my reading order - they do sound good.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Sounds like an interesting series. Amazon tells me that I bought the first 2 in June last year, when they were on special offer, but I've now bought numbers 3 and 4. I'll move them up my reading order - they do sound good.

They are an excellent series. Highly recommended.

I think I'd recommend publication order, but the internal chronology is by the number in each title.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Rev. Bob

I remember Mission Earth. Understand that I'm a packrat; I loathe getting rid of books. I've lost books and disposed of extra copies, but I almost never completely eject a book from my collection.

Mission Earth is one of those exceptions. So was John Norman's "Gor" series.

I tried to read the Mission Earth series. I gave up during the first book. It was awful. I have to agree that it's a fast read because you don't have to read even half of the first book.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I tried to read the Mission Earth series. I gave up during the first book. It was awful. I have to agree that it's a fast read because you don't have to read even half of the first book.

Let me try to understand this one (which I love, by the way): The series of 10 books are so bad, that it's a fast read because you didn't finish the series.

I love that!

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I tried to read the Mission Earth series. I gave up during the first book. It was awful. I have to agree that it's a fast read because you don't have to read even half of the first book.

Unlike "Battlefield Earth", which is one of my all-time favourite books. My only criticism of it is that it's not nearly long enough. Should have been at least double the length it is.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Unlike "Battlefield Earth", which is one of my all-time favourite books. My only criticism of it is that it's not nearly long enough. Should have been at least double the length it is.

I read Battlefield Earth. Again way too wordy and way too many places that would have been good to stop. It's like Hubbard got to the end and decided to keep going. Then he got to another end and decided to keep going and so on. I'm guessing he got paid by the word. My criticism is that it's at least 1/2 too long as is.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Let me try to understand this one (which I love, by the way): The series of 10 books are so bad, that it's a fast read because you didn't finish the series.

I love that!

Exactly. It's a 10 book series that should take mo more than two days to finish since you'll not be finishing book one.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Unlike "Battlefield Earth", which is one of my all-time favourite books. My only criticism of it is that it's not nearly long enough. Should have been at least double the length it is.

So, Harry, did you enjoy the "Mission Earth" series?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

So, Harry, did you enjoy the "Mission Earth" series?

I've not read them. A treat in store .

[Manabi]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Unlike "Battlefield Earth", which is one of my all-time favourite books. My only criticism of it is that it's not nearly long enough. Should have been at least double the length it is.

Battlefield Earth was the longest book I had ever read until I got into Peter F. Hamilton's novels. Hubbard only managed 1,050 pages, Hamilton pulled off 1,174 just as book three in his Night's Dawn trilogy! (You should see the UK paperback version of that book, it's insane. They had to reduce the font size to make it possible to turn into a paperback.) Books one and two came in at 955 and 999 respectively. When this series was first released in the US, they split all the books into two parts, so you had six novels instead of three.

I still need to read his Chronicle of the Fallers series. Looks like the final book will be out this year, so I'll wait.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I read Battlefield Earth. Again way too wordy and way too many places that would have been good to stop. It's like Hubbard got to the end and decided to keep going. Then he got to another end and decided to keep going and so on. I'm guessing he got paid by the word. My criticism is that it's at least 1/2 too long as is.

I think Battlefield Earth and the Mission Earth series shows what happens when an author is no longer beholden to an editor. Hubbard could write some entertaining stuff, but he desperately needed someone to reign him in. By the point he wrote those books he was surrounded by Scientology sycophants and no one dared to even try to do so. I think there's a decent story in both books, buried under an avalanche of word salad.

[datcha]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

It also seems to be on sale at Amazon UK for £3.79 for all except the second book.

I really enjoyed the first three, but I hadn't realised the fourth was already out. Now bought at a bargain £3.79 (considering that they were £7+ a few days ago.)

My 120th bought book this year.

Well, I am in France, and I get it on amazon.com for $11 or on amazon.fr for EUR 12 (no explanations). I can see it for £3.79 on amazon UK (I did not try to buy).

Now, I thought Europe has a unified market ?!

By the way, most of the sales are not available from France. Amazon.com may give you a $2 price, while it gives me $10.

I notice the reverse with the Bragelone sale in Canada, with prices at EUR 3 in France and $5 in Canada.

I am wondering what the point is.

An indie author was recently asking her readers what is the fair price for an ebook (a question that I raised myself elsewhere). My answer is that there is no such thing as a fair price for an ebook. One can do economic reasonning, or just observe publishers and resellers.

[Little.Egret]

Originally Posted by datcha

Well, I am in France, and I get it on amazon.com for $11 or on amazon.fr for EUR 12 (no explanations). I can see it for £3.79 on amazon UK (I did not try to buy).

Now, I thought Europe has a unified market ?!

The EU 'Single Market' has no requirement to sell at the same price in the various member states or indeed to sell in any particular state. The rules are just to make such sales as easy as possible,

Even when the same publisher has the same rights, prices may differ, thus I noted a ebook sold at a special low price in UK (it was a set book for an Open University course). Any remote students in Spain had to pay the standard price.